This episode of Law and Order: SVU the team faces a Russian mob that commits murder using a Russian Bride website. After a woman with prominent Russian tattoos is found dead behind a dumpster, the team investigates who the woman is and tries to track down the Russian mobster that is in charge of the murder of these women who seem to be identical. The man's wife who was identified as being the women killed was discovered to be alive and with a new identity under a Russian Bride website. Captain Donald Cragen goes undercover to set up a "date" and question the woman who was suspected to be dead but was found on an illegal website. She catches on to his identity and tries to escape their date but is caught and is used to catch the Russian mobster. It is revealed that she is actually in alliance with and working closely with the Russian mobster so she is eventually arrested.
This episode was suspenseful and action packed, but what it was not packed with was representation of African Americans. Oh wait... in fact there was one African American male (Besides Detective Tutuola) and this character was one of the men who were taking trash to the dumpster and discovered a dead body. This does not portray the justice system as much as it portrays the representation of African Americans in Hollywood but it should be considered. Law and Order: SVU represents the U.S. justice system for sexually offensive crimes but why does it represent mostly folks that are white? Not only African Americans committing crime but where are the African Americans in law enforcement? Hollywood and the images portrayed in Law and Order: SVU are powerful because they go unquestioned. These television shows are valued for entertainment and to earn profit, ultimately. However, the power of the media and these television shows are strong. These images stay in the minds of those who are watching so, what does that mean when African Americans are erased? This blog post is meant to think about the representation of African Americans not only in the justice system but in the media and Hollywood as well.
This episode was suspenseful and action packed, but what it was not packed with was representation of African Americans. Oh wait... in fact there was one African American male (Besides Detective Tutuola) and this character was one of the men who were taking trash to the dumpster and discovered a dead body. This does not portray the justice system as much as it portrays the representation of African Americans in Hollywood but it should be considered. Law and Order: SVU represents the U.S. justice system for sexually offensive crimes but why does it represent mostly folks that are white? Not only African Americans committing crime but where are the African Americans in law enforcement? Hollywood and the images portrayed in Law and Order: SVU are powerful because they go unquestioned. These television shows are valued for entertainment and to earn profit, ultimately. However, the power of the media and these television shows are strong. These images stay in the minds of those who are watching so, what does that mean when African Americans are erased? This blog post is meant to think about the representation of African Americans not only in the justice system but in the media and Hollywood as well.